Holland Banking Co. v. See

130 S.W. 354, 146 Mo. App. 269, 1910 Mo. App. LEXIS 470
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 6, 1910
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 130 S.W. 354 (Holland Banking Co. v. See) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holland Banking Co. v. See, 130 S.W. 354, 146 Mo. App. 269, 1910 Mo. App. LEXIS 470 (Mo. Ct. App. 1910).

Opinion

GRAY, J.

On the 16th day of November, 1907, the plaintiff filed in the circuit court of Greene county, its petition against the defendants herein. At the May term, 1908, of said court, the defendants were granted a change of venue to the Barton County Circuit Court. The cause was tried in the Barton County Circuit Court, resulting in a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, and the cause is in this court on the appeal of the defendant, Fred W. See, trustee, from that judgment.

The conceded facts in the case are as follows: E. M. Robords departed this life in 1904, and the defendant, Fred W. See, duly qualified as his administrator, and was acting as such at the time this suit was commenced and tried. Robords prior to his death, was engaged in the business of handling Soldiers Additional Homestead Claims, and he purchased from the defendant, Alimón, claims of that character in the names of one Fitzgerald, Clark, Smith and Miller, paying for the claims of Smith and Miller nine hundred dollars; that after Alimón had transferred said claims to Robords, Alimón executed to the defendant, See, as trustee for Robords, a deed of trust on certain property in the city of Springfield. This deed of trust was executed because some question had come up concerning the validity of the homestead claims purchased by Robords from Alimón, and in order to secure Robords against loss. In addition to the deed of trust for twelve hundred dollars, the sum of five hundred dollars was deposited with Robords, and a warranty deed to a house and lot.

[273]*273A written contract was entered into between Alimón and Eobords, by which it was agreed should the said homestead claims be fraudulent or worthless, Eobords was to retain from the said securities the amount required to compensate him for the amount originally paid for the claims, and after he had made himself whole, the surplus of the indemnity fund was to be returned to Alimón. It was further agreed that the securities should be appropriated for the purposes for which they were given, in the following order: The cash deposit of five hundred dollars, the house and lot for the sum of five hundred dollars, and last, the deed of trust-should be foreclosed.

Eobords borrowed from the respondent bank $15,500, for which he executed his several promissory notes, payable on demand. To secure the payment of the notes, he pledged and transferred to said bank, a number of homestead claims, including the claims of Smith and Miller above mentioned. Eobords was unable to pay his notes, and the bank had disposed of, at a fair and reasonable valuation, all the security given by Eobords to secure the payment of his notes, except the two homestead claims of Smith and Miller, and one additional claim. These three claims are absolutely worthless, and plaintiff tendered them into court at the trial of the case.

The contract between Alimón and Eobords further provided for the return of the claims to Alimón when Eobords had realized from his securities the amount paid for the claims.

In September, 1904, letters of administration were issued and notice thereof published in accordance with the law, and the plaintiff filed no claim against the estate of. Eobords within two years from the date of the publication of the notice of letters of administration. Upon the death of Eobords, the twelve hundred dollar note secured by the deed of trust was found [274]*274among bis assets, and came into tbe possession of tbe administrator, and who, as trustee, afterwards advertised tbe property for sale under tbe terms of tbe deed of trust and tbe same was sold for $1150. Tbe contest is over this fund.

Tbe plaintiff alleges in bis petition tbe facts as above stated, and claims that tbe funds in tbe bands of tbe defendant, See, arose out of tbe sale of tbe property given to secure tbe validity of tbe homestead claims held by plaintiff, and that by reason of tbe assignment of said claims to plaintiff by Eobords for a valuable consideration, plaintiff became vested with the rights of Eobords in and to all moneys arising from tbe foreclosure of property given to secure tbe payment of such claims.

It is alleged in plaintiff’s petition that giving due credit for all payments made by Eobords on his notes to plaintiff, there is due plaintiff on said notes, tbe sum of three thousand dollars, for which it holds no security, except its claim against said funds in the bands of tbe defendant, See. Tbe petition asked that tbe funds in tbe bands of See, to tbe amount of nine hundred dollars, arising from tbe sale of tbe real estate, be paid to tbe plaintiff.

Tbe defendant, Alimón, filed an answer in tbe nature of an affirmative pleading, and upon motion of tbe appellant, be was required to give bond, and failing to do so, bis pleading was, on motion of appellant, stricken out, and tbe cause was, by Alimón, abandoned.

Tbe answer of tbe defendant, See, is a general denial, and a plea of tbe Statute of Limitations, alleging that tbe plaintiff presented no demand against tbe estate of Eobords within tbe two-year period fixed by tbe statute.

We do not believe tbe two-year Statute of Limitations prescribed for presenting demands against tbe estates of deceased persons applies to cases of this char-, acter.

[275]*275In Cowan v. Mueller, 176 Mo. 192, 75 S. W. 606, it is expressly held that the owner of a note made by decedent, can after the two-year Statute of Limitations, and without ever having presented such note for allowance, have the deed of trust executed by decedent as security for the payment of the note, foreclosed at any time within the period fixed by the general statute limiting the life of notes. The reasoning in that case is so applicable to the facts in the present case that we consider the same decisive of the point.

The main controversy is the right of respondent to be substituted or subrogated to the rights of the administrator of Robords to the security taken by Robords to protect him against any loss by virtue of the homestead claims proving to be worthless.

“Subrogation” is defined by Anderson in his Law Dictionary to be “The substitution of a new for an old creditor; more generally, the act of putting, by transfer, a person in the place of another.”

The right is not founded on contract. It is a creation of equity; is enforced for the purpose of accomplishing the ends of substantial justice; and is independent of any contractual relation between the parties. [Memphis R. R. Co. v. Dow, 120 U. S. 301.]

“The doctrine of subrogation has become a part of the English and American law, has kept pace with the growth of the equitable principles until at the present time it exists in all its pristine vigor, and is extended to whomsoever as a matter of right and good conscience it should be applied. [54 Central Law Journal, 43; Harnsberger v. Yancy, 33 Gratt. 527; Greenwell v. Heritage, 71 Mo. 459.]

“It is treated as the child of equity, and is applied to secure a real and essential justice regardless of form, and independent of any privity of contract, or consideration between the parties affected by it. [Furnold v. Bank, 44 Mo. l. c. 338; Capen v. Garrison, 193 Mo. l. c. [276]*276341, 92 S. W. 368; Meyer v. Mintonye, 106 Ill. 414; Douglas v. Fogg, 8 Leigh 598.]

In Bank v. Paulsen, 78 N. W. 303, it is said: “The -doctrine of subrogation is not a fixed and inflexible rule of law and equity. It does not owe its origin to statute or custom.

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Bluebook (online)
130 S.W. 354, 146 Mo. App. 269, 1910 Mo. App. LEXIS 470, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holland-banking-co-v-see-moctapp-1910.